You know, I should do some checking on this. I've heard
that the US Military (can't remember which branch, maybe
all of them) have the same concern. Not enough pay, and
folks on food stamps. Thanks for giving me some to
research.

true to some extent but especially with higher priced goods, service and
ambience matter.
Go to a BMW dealership and then a Chevy dealership for an example... the
BMW dealership's waiting area is nicer than the living room of anyone I
regularly associate with, complete with a complimentary (yeah right,
you're paying for it somehow) coffee and pastry bar lifted straight out
of Starbuck's or Caribou or something like that. The restrooms look
like the ones in that snooty nightclub that you never go to. The Chevy
dealership has a Bunn-O-Matic in the corner and a stack of styrofoam cups.
We could debate all day whether a M3 is a better car than a Z28 and
change each other's minds several times and eventually come to no clear
conclusion, but the differences in the amount of coddlements you receive
is undeniable. That is one of the reasons that among the general public
BMW is perceived as a higher-end brand.
Personally I like kraut-burners and would love to drive a BMW and get
service for Chevy prices, and I could care less about anything other
than a chair, some coffee, and maybe some wi-fi. But I'm not your
typical Bimmer customer...
nate

That's all true but in the end you are buying THE PRODUCT, not the
service. Of course you can argue that the cost of the service is paid
for in the higher price of the product but that's just
rationalization. ALL products have "service" costs built into their
prices, the stuff doesn't just materialize out of thin air at your
house. If you don't buy the BMW you still got to sit in the nice
waiting room and chat with the sales guy who is so good at stroking
your ego.

Does it cost 5 times as much to cook garlic mashed potatoes in the
ritzy place as it does at Joe's Diner. Probably not. And it well
known from insider stories that the profit margin on "luxury cars" is
WAY higher then on a Plymouth.

All are valid reasons. I'm still of the opinion that at least part of
the higher prices is intended to make the stores unattractive to "poor
folk" because the rich folk the store is attempting to cater to don't
want "wallmart people" clogging the aisles.

Sadly, somewhat true.
It would be nice if the increase in price brought a concurrent increase
in quality of the product sold, as well as nicer store amenities and
lack of riffraff. (although in some places I'm probably the riffraff,
but whatever...) In some cases I can see it. In others, it's just a
nicer store selling the same made in China crap...
nate

It's a balancing act. If the walmart people had the money and came
there it would drive away the clientele that's their main customers.
So it's not simply that they want ANY people with money, they are
looking at the appropriate price level to keep out almost all the
walmart people yet still attract the hippies and yuppies who will pay
twice as much for an "organic" apple. If we were talking about a mail
order place you'd be right, they don't care who buys from them, all
they ever see is the money and all the customers ever see is the
models pictured in the ads, not the other customers.

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